DAILY NATION Wednesday April 29, 2015 FIGHT OF THE CENTURY FLOYD MAYWEATHER VS MANNY PACQUIAO MGM GRAND ARENA, LAS VEGAS. 3 DAYS TO GO! ALLAN BULUKU | His unbeaten record, which he managed by selecting opponents, has created a monster of a god in his Utopian world Bankable tip: Swallow ‘Money’ hype at your cost and peril New York to Nairobi, people are talking. Everyone wants a piece of it. Everywhere you go it’s Mayweather-Pacquiao, Mayweather, Pacquiao.... From the Internet to the television, T he gods of boxing have spoken: After six years of planning and bargaining, two of the finest box- ers in the world finally lock horns in the richest match ever this weekend. Floyd Mayweather, Jr aka Money and Manny Pacquiao alias Pac Man, are considered two of the best fighters of their generation. Ever since the ‘Fight of the Century’ was announced, everyone and anyone has had something to say about the two bitter rivals. From Las Vegas to Manila, newspapers, magazines and the bar stool, it’s all about the big fight. When the fight tickets were released on Friday, they sold out within minutes. Some for as much as US$141,000. Yes, Sh12 million each! Yet, despite the excitement this fight has generated across the globe, it might not be that thrilling. So, stay calm. Why? Many believe that their money is safe with the ‘Money Man’. The American - an undisputed and undefeated fivedivision champion - has won all 47 of his fights, 26 by knockout, while Pacquiao, a Filipino, has a record of 57 wins, five losses and two draws. Since statistics do not lie, many boxing analysts/experts/ MUTWIRI MUTUOTA | Pow To Pac Man fans! F will weather the sto crown considered to Ali, a stagger self promotion a fight that cou shatter his un record of 47, w knock-outs. Having beaten H aving not been born during the era of Muhammad Ali versus Joe Frazier and George Foreman, the term megafight in boxing will finally make sense this weekend when unbeaten Floyd ‘Money’ Mayweather, Jr slugs it out with Manny ‘Pac Man’ Pacquiao. It’s been dubbed the ‘Fight of the Century’ only 15 years into it, grossing some US$400 million (about Sh38 billion) or more according to estimates, placing it millions of miles ahead of anything Ali, Frazier, Foreman to Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis commanded in their prime. To put it into context, the previous ‘fight of the century’ The Rumble in The Jungle when Ali reclaimed the world heavy weight title by flooring Foreman in Kinshasa 41 years ago had a guaranteed purse of US$5 million, 80 times less than what the Mayweather-Pacquiao will generate when the best pound for pound middleweight boxers on the planet trade blows in Las Vegas. Ricky Hatton, remember him? The British boxer who 10 years ago was mentioned in the same league with Money and Pac Man saw his career forced to a premature retirement when both knocked him out in devastating but contrasting fashion. Mayweather used his ring genius while the Filipino Pacquiao applied his nuclear hitting power to leave Hatton and his band of 30,000 travelling British supporters, wiping his career off the canvas. With the pound-for-pound title up for grabs besides the Sh94 million unification belt, I call this for Money despite the rags to riches narrative, love for the underdog and punching power of Pacquiao. Last week, Mayweather, who’s never shy of fronting it, his prowess on the ring and enviable wealth off it, claimed he was the Greatest of All Time, a likes of Oscar D Hoya, Diego Co rales, Miguel Co Canelo Alvarez, Juan Manuel Marquez, Shane Mosley and othe Mayweather has resume that is n unrivalled in the history. His lightnin punches find the with stunning a and he has also one of the mos skills a fighter and that’s the adjust mid-fight against Zab Jud and others. If Mayweathe on May 2, anoth ment of his inclu of All Time will some will never because they ha to recognise his i and business acu his preferred box Filipino congre distinguished hi 57 wins, 38 via although five de his copy book an every reason to b is in a better po beat Mayweather years ago when called him out fo But like ev in the plannin mega-fight, from tions, drug testin to even the date, t camp has held a and you can bet same in the ring Mutwiri Mutuota is the Sports Editor, Capital FM. emutuota@googlemail.com T ickets for the weigh-in, yes - the weigh-in - cost US$10 (about Sh900) and all 10,000 of them were sold out within hours. Face value of the tickets are priced at Sh700,000, Sh470,000, Sh330,000, Sh240,000 and Sh140,000 with price set to rocket up on the secondary market with average price so far being about Sh940,000. Even celebrities have waded with P Diddy and Mark Wahlberg putting down a bet of US$250,000 (about Sh24 million). With the two boxers set to make upto $400 million (about Sh38 billion), the figures are mind boggling and little wonder then that it has been dubbed the biggest boxing match in the world. In this digital era, there is palpable excitement as the two best pound-for-pound fighters go head-to-head this weekend. Boxing has struggled to attract ratings in recent years. Since Mike Tyson, the numbers have gone down because while they maybe skilled boxers, the Klitschko brothers, David Haye or even Amir Khan do not set pulses racing. Enter Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, Jr. Two self made boxers who have made a name on and off the ring, amassed incredible wealth and are much more than boxers. A duo who have turned boxing into incredible showbiz. Other than being a boxer, Pacquiao is also a congressman, a basketballer, an actor and a musician. His opponent’s nickname, ‘Money”, says it all. Worth an estimated US$280 million (about Sh26 billion), Mayweather is the highest paid athlete in the world despite having few endorsement deals. And boy does he spend it. A 100 cars bought from one dealership including 16 Rolls know-it-alls are fast queuing behind Mayweather. I am no boxing guru. I won’t even attempt to analyse the two fighters’ styles, tactics, training manuals, blah blah blah. What I know for a fact is that there will be a winner. But I refuse to be dragged to the Money corner. You see, about 19 years ago, an underdog made people cry in the same American ‘sin capital’ where Saturday’s duel will be staged. Tyson learnt his lesson Evander Holyfield, a man crawling back from retirement, stunned the world when he stopped a rare breed of a boxer: Mike ‘Iron’ Tyson. When Tyson took on Holyfield on November 9, 1996, there was no question about the qualities of the two. The then 30-year-old Tyson was the WBA heavyweight champion while Holyfield, four years older, was just returning to boxing, having retired in 1994 due to a heart scare. The fight, billed as ‘Finally’, was Tyson’s first defence of the WBA title that he had won from Bruce Seldon on September 7 of that year and Holyfield was looking to become the first fighter since Muhammad Ali to regain the heavyweight championship twice. In the eyes of Tyson’s promoter, the legendary Don King, Holyfield was a wasted fighter. The returnee would however dominate the bloody fight and, were it not for the wisdom of the referee, a battered and bruised Tyson would certainly have booked an early meeting with his Creator. Fast forward to 2015. Sounds familiar? Mayweather has been talking big. The man actually believes he’s been sent by God Himself to save the boxing world. His unbeaten record, which he managed by carefully selecting his opponents, has created a monster of a god in his Utopian world. Hell! Mr Moneybags even considers himself ‘The Greatest’, a la the legendary Ali. What an abomination. Earlier, in 1990, ‘Iron Mike’ lost his ti- tles to underdog James ‘Buster’ Douglas by a knockout despite having successfully defended the world heavyweight championship nine times. Tyson, who learnt the hard way - at least on the two occasions - has packed his weight behind ‘Pac Man’. And since I’m neither an expert in boxing nor a prophet, I’ll take Tyson’s word to the bank. So should you. Allan Buluku is the Sports Editor, Daily Nation. abuluku@ke.nationmedia.com JAMES WOKABI | Delicately balanced I’m playing it safe; It will be a close fight Royces and three Bugattis and he got his son a Bentley golf cart for his 15th birthday. But as flashy as they both are; as great fighters as they are, can their match up rank against Ali vs Frazier and Tyson vs Holyfield? To do so, they must give as a fight for the ages. Part of why it’s so eagerly anticipated is just how long the world has waited for it to happen. From 2009, when it was first mooted, it’s been on and off and then on again as accusations and counter accusations made it look nigh impossible. From drug testing to the number of tickets each boxer will get for his entourage (Pacquiao wanted 800-900), the bickering between the two camps has been unprecedented. Quite possibly part of the plan to rack up interest in the fight. Pacquiao had to bend over back- wards to make it happen. Other than agreeing to stringent drug testing, Mayweather’s name is first on the ticket; Mayweather-Pacquiao. He will enter the ring second, choose his locker room and corner and most importantly, take home 60 percent of generated revenue. So who will prevail? Mayweather earned his name, ‘Pretty Boy’, early on in his career because of his famous defence. If he was a football team he would be Chelsea, excellent defensively and in strategy. His strength lies in his water tight defence and economy of punches as well as accuracy. He faces a fast and furious Pac- quiao. Regarded as one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, his speed and footwork has seen him overwhelm opponents. The chink in his armour is a soft underbelly as he’s been beaten five times. It will thus boil down to speed and aggression vs immaculate defence and accuracy. Who will win? Mayweather’s defence maybe just about enough to hold off Pacquiao. It will be close however with a split decision deciding the final outcome. James Wokabi is the Editor, www.supersport.com. jwokabi@gmail.com Sport 67